Frontier Notebook: Rocky bounces back from a tough week

It's always a big deal when Carroll College comes to play a Frontier Conference football game, at any stadium around the conference. But it's an even bigger deal when it's that teams homecoming, and on an anniversary, too.

That's the case Saturday when the Fighting Saints come to Blue Pony Stadium for a homecoming showdown with the Montana State University-Northern Lights. And while MSU-N has hosted Carroll several times on homecoming, and during other special occasions, and while its always big when Carroll, the flagship of the Frontier, comes to Havre, Saturday's latest meeting the two squads has a special date attached to it.

Yes, this year is a birthday of sorts for the Northern football program, which was resurrected under the late Walt Currie in 1998. The program had been dormant for almost three decades, but in '98 the Lights were turned back on so to speak.

So, during homecoming weekend, which is always exciting at MSU-N, members of the 1998 team, which played that first year, essentially as a club sport, are having a reunion, and they'd love to see the community come out and support them in the same way the community will support the current Lights against Carroll Saturday.

And speaking of the Saints, it's been an interesting week for Carroll. Early in the week, the Saints learned that their 19-0, season-opening loss at Rocky Mountain College had been reversed. Rocky inadvertently played an ineligible player during the Aug. 23 game and eventually reported the infraction to the NAIA and Frontier, and with it came a forfeit.

One week after the loss to Rocky, Carroll fell again, at UM-Western, and things were starting to look pretty bleak in Helena. However, that all changed last Saturday when the Saints upended NCAA Division II Linfield College at Nelson Stadium. Carroll has scheduled ambitious games like the Linfield one in the past, and the Saints have been quite successful in doing so. But with a possible 0-3 start looming, and the Wildcats coming off a playoff appearance last year, the game was certainly a dangerous one for the Saints.

However, Carroll's defense showed what purple power is all about as the Saints held the Wildcats to just 72 yards rushing in a 21-14 win.

And that's what Northern and star running back Jett Robertson will be up against Saturday, a nasty and stingy Carroll defense that allows just 16 points and 105 yards rushing per outing. And while Carroll's offense continues to struggle this season, the Saints have hung tough with a defense led by star end Beaugh Meyer, a great group of linebackers, and, standouts in the defensive backfield.

Meanwhile, Robertson was limited to just 51 yards in Northern's 55-3 loss at UM-Western, but the junior is still among the top rushers in the Frontier. He comes into Saturday's homecoming game averaging 105 yards a game, which is third in the Frontier and 11th in the NAIA.

Still, with such a stout Carroll defense coming in to try to spoil Northern's homecoming parade, the Lights will need to do much better on offense than the 6.5 points per game they've averaged since their season-opening win against Mayville State.

Early Trending

There's two surprises right now in the Frontier Conference, and they're going in opposite directions.

UM-Western, picked seventh in the Frontier Coaches Poll, is off to a fast start, beating Carroll and Northern to open the season. The preseason pick isn't the only reason Western has been a surprise thus far, it's been the play of a pair of new starters on offense.

Last year, Western quarterback Bennett Gibson threw for over 3,000 yards and running back Hunter Thomsen rushed for over 900. Both graduated in the spring, and it figured to have a lasting effect on the Bulldog offense.

Wrong.

So far this fall, Western is leading the Frontier in scoring at 36 ppg and is second in total offense. Sophomore quarterback Jon Jund has been outstanding thus far and the Bulldogs are rushing by committee, and it's working. They plowed over Northern to the tune of 340 yards last Saturday night.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum is the College of Idaho. The Yotes were a sexy pick to contend for the Frontier title this season, but a pair of close, early-season losses by less than a touchdown and a difficult loss to Montana Tech have left C of I at 0-3 in the Frontier to start the year. And it doesn't get any easier, as the Yotes step out of conference play and go way, way up to play Big Sky Conference member Portland State this Saturday. Unless C of I pulls off a miracle in Portland, the Yotes are going to be 0-4 before September is even over, and with that the only chance they have to make the playoffs is to somehow win the Frontier title outright.

Bounce Back

Give Rocky Mountain head coach Jason Petrino and his Battlin' Bears a ton of credit. One week ago, RMC was riding high, 2-0 and headed for greatness. Then comes the news the Bears were forced to forfeit their season-opening win over Carroll College, and that news came just days before the Bears were set to host 13th-ranked Dickinson State in a huge non-conference clash in Billings.

A situation like that could have derailed Rocky, but instead, the Bears bucked down and rode a hard-nosed defense to a 21-10 win over the Blue Hawks at Herb Klindt Field.

The forfeit of the Carroll game could have certainly hurt Rocky against the resurgent Blue Hawks, but RMC focused and got the job done. And while the damage could be felt later in the season, if Rocky comes down to being tied for the league title, for this week anyway, all is back to normal in Billings.

Frontier Honors

Southern Oregon's Rey Vega was named Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. Vega, a 5-10, 205-pound running back from Modesto, California, rushed for 158 yards and two touchddowns in SOU's win over C of I last Saturday.

Eastern Oregon's Justin Hughes was named Frontier Defensive Player of the Week. He is a 5-10, 185-pound defensive back from Longdale, Nevada. In EOU's loss to Montana Tech, Hughes had 13 tackles and an interception.

Mark Karachenko of UM-Western was named Frontier Special Teams Player of the Week. He is a 6-4, 180-pound kicker from Colville, Washington. In Western's 55-3 win over Northern, he was 7-for-7 on PATs and made two 23-yard field goals.